You know the drill. I'm sorry this took so long, but this is probably the hardest story to write I've got ongoing. You'll probably be able to tell I picked this up and put it back down about a hundred times before I got it right - it feels a bit disjointed, but I'm trying to move along as fast as possible, so imperfection it is.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

The bastard picked Seattle.

I emerged from a portal inside my apartment, still as messy as I'd left it. A sigh escaped my lips; this was it. After I left the premises, there would be no more Rachel Roth - at least, not in Seattle, not as the White Raven's proprietor, not as a simple civilian. Even if I chose not to affiliate myself with the League, or the Team, there'd be no going back to anonymity after facing Doctor Fate. I was committed to taking down the Light, and I knew it wouldn't exactly be a quick jaunt.

I was in it for the long haul.

My hands became wreathed in pitch black energy, and the mess around me matched them. Bits and pieces of glass, wood, and brick turned from debris to furniture, windows, and walls. SPD probably wouldn't appreciate me messing up their crime scene, but this was one case they probably wouldn't solve anyway.

I smiled, wistfully, staring at my palms. My 'telekinesis' had never been quite what it appeared to be, of course, instead a physical manifestation of my soul extending to and possessing whatever it touched. To others, I was merely moving stuff with my mind, but in truth, a tiny sliver of me became one with whatever I was manipulating - and as I left an imprint on it, it left an imprint upon my soul.

This apartment had seen me through some of the best and worst times of my life; nothing so dramatic as Trigon's arrival, of course, but it intimately knew my joy and fulfillment upon the White Raven becoming successful, as well as my torturously painful bouts of loneliness and self-doubt over having left the Titans - and perhaps, more importantly, Garfield - behind. All of these feelings surged through me as I repaired the damage the start of this new journey had inflicted on my safe haven, and I felt true bittersweetness - my own, at the thought of abandoning this part of my life, too, or perhaps even the apartment's, as it became aware of my imminent, permanent departure.

I snorted, all to myself. The apartment wasn't alive. Geez, what a sap.

In any case, the apartment was repaired, which meant all that was left was tending to the White Raven itself.

The shop, uh...wasn't empty.

My friend and employee, Bella, stood before me, pale as a ghost, and dropped her teacup. I hastily caught it, the floating, darkened object only spooking her further, and into a full-blown shriek.

"Calm down, please." -I said, placing the cup on a nearby table. I noticed that the place was in the process of being tidied up, with all the books back in their places, and all the tables and chairs turned back upright. The floor was still a little dusty - a task that was probably next on the agenda, judging by the broom Bella had grabbed and likely intended to hit me with, if her blind charge was anything to go by.

I frowned, holding the broom in place, and causing her to recoil and fall on her backside. I fondly shook my head - the girl always had been a bit too impulsive.

"If I was a supervillain, you'd be dead." -I remarked.

"T-that's not exactly reassuring." -she said, meekly.

I offered my hand, which she hesitantly took. She yelped, as I swiftly pulled her upright. "What are you doing here?"

"Who are you? Why are you here?" -she asked, ignoring my question.

Part of me was shocked that she hadn't recognized me - she did have a crush on me, after all - but I figured Rachel Roth didn't match Raven in any way except height, in her eyes. "I'm Raven. Former Teen Titan?"

She raised an eyebrow, perplexed, but I could see the tiniest spark of recognition in her eyes. "Like...from California?"

I hummed and nodded. "Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Boy, and yours truly."

"Oh my God, that was years ago!"

"No need to remind me of how old I've become." -I joked. "I guess I know how Mara Wilson feels every time Matilda is mentioned, now."

She blushed. "Sorry!" -Bella said. I half-shrugged, giving the broom back to her. She took it, then pursed her lips. "So...what brings a, uh...classic superhero to an abandoned tea shop in Seattle?"

"A fight." -I said.

The girl cursed. "Oh crap, is a villain coming?"

"A hero. Technically." -I said, scowling at the thought of Nabu's avatar. "You know how it goes with us; whenever we have to resolve our differences, we just have to do it in the most public, harmful-to-infrastructure way possible."

She giggled. Nervously, at first, but I guess the joke landed at the end, there. "Pretty sure that's where half my taxes go to. Fixing cities wrecked by hero on hero action."

"It's going to be a lot less erotic than that." -I assured her. She blushed, as I knew she would. "Why are you here?"

Bella's mood turned downcast. "I...work here. Used to, anyway."

"I take it this place has seen better days."

"Much better. It was open, and everything." -she said, giving me a sad smile. "The owner, Rachel, disappeared a while back. Nobody can tell me what happened to her, and the police has apparently given up on the investigation. I still have a key, though, so I figured I'd come in and get the place ready...y'know, in case she, uh…"

"Returns." -I finished for her. "You're...remarkably loyal, for a retail worker."

"I had a good boss." -she said, fondly.

I sighed, looking around at the product of our labor. I truly didn't know what would happen after today, but the store itself deserved to flourish, even in my absence. My eyes glowed white once more, and I began to put the store back together, fixing everything from shattered teacups to broken tables. Bella watched in equal parts wonder and fear as my power returned the White Raven to its former glory.

"Wow...that's...thank you, but why did you do that?"

"The White Raven was good to me. Saved me from...depression, stagnation. Let me find myself in a way I maybe hadn't, since I first came to Earth and became a Teen Titan." -I confessed. "I don't know that I'll be able to return, not for a while, but...I don't want to see it fall apart."

Understanding dawned on her, and she paled, stumbling back. I put a chair behind her, just in time for her plop down upon it. "Rachel…" -she whispered, and looked into my blazing eyes. "You're Rachel! You've been a superhero all along!?"

"Not while I owned this place, I wasn't." -I said, shaking my head. "I was just Rachel Roth. And I was happy. But an old friend needed help, and Rachel wasn't enough. Hence..." -I gestured at my suit. "Me. Back in action."

She bounces up, exhilarated. "This is incredible! I have so many questions!"

I smiled, wistful. I was never a popular Titan - always polled fifth out of five, actually - but I did have a fan or two. "And I promise I'll answer them, someday. Like I said, I'm here for...business, unpleasant as it may be."

My former employee deflated quickly. "O-oh, I see…"

I placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Hey." -I said, removing my hood. She looked up from her feet. "If my time as a Titan taught me anything, it was to treasure the friendships I've made in this world - and you are my friend. You never knew who I was before, and still you sought me out. One of my biggest regrets from the past year is being such a workaholic - to the detriment of our friendship. So, I'll tell you what: I will entrust the White Raven to you. You take care of the place for me, and I promise to come around every now and then, answer every single question you have."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "I can't!"

"You can. You were the best employee I could've hoped for. And you'll be the new blood this place needs."

I hugged her, briefly. And then, I left.

Ignoring gravity was second nature to me, of course, but something about flying over Seattle felt...off, somehow. Like I was meant to only know this city from street level - as Rachel Roth, city bus connoisseur. Still the feeling wore off quickly.

Just in time for my opponent to arrive.

Convincing Doctor Fate to take part in my theatrics took less doing than I'd predicted. Obviously, we agreed to keep things civil, and away from bystanders, but I could tell he'd relish the opportunity to inflict some damage on the subject of his...hatred, I guess? I could only imagine the Lord of Order hated a lot of things and people.

"YOUR PATH ENDS HERE, SPAWN OF TRIGON." -he proclaimed, a mere moment after coalescing from one of his golden symbols.

"For all your ageless wisdom, you sure seem to like provoking people who could turn this world to ash and smoke." -I taunted.

"AS IS REQUIRED OF EARTH'S SORCERER SUPREME. I WILL PROTECT THIS WORLD FROM ANY THREAT - NO MATTER HOW VAST OR HOW CRUEL."

I scoffed. "Like an orphaned, teenage refugee?"

His eyes blazed golden with the power of Order. "FEIGNING IGNORANCE WILL NOT SAVE YOU. HOWEVER BRIEF, YOUR PRESENCE HERE BROUGHT ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD."

"You know I never meant to harm anybody."

"AND YET, YOU HARMED EVERYBODY."

I growled, my eyes taking on a glow of their own. "That wasn't me. It was—"

"TRIGON SIRED YOU, CHILD, BUT HE COULD NEVER HAVE BREACHED OUR DIMENSION WITHOUT YOUR AID. YOU MAY NOT BE TO BLAME FOR THE DEMON WITHIN, BUT LETTING YOUR FATHER USE YOU AS A PORTAL WAS A CHOICE. ONE YOU WILL FINALLY PAY FOR." -he accused, his hands becoming wreathed in power.

My second set of eyes materialized as Rage became harder and harder to deny. "You weren't there. You didn't feel the pull. You didn't have to decide between the civilians you've fought so hard to save, and the only people on this planet willing to give you a chance." -I growled. "And that's just it, Nabu. You don't even care about humanity. You're so obsessed with 'maintaining Order' that you can't even pretend to care for your host, you goddamned parasite."

"DOCTOR FATE IS AN AGENT OF ORDER. OUR DUTY IS PERMANENT, OUR WATCH UNINTERRUPTED." -he said, though he seemed to falter, just for a second. "GIOVANNI ZATARA UNDERSTOOD THE STAKES."

"Eight years ago, Nabu. How does he feel about it now? How does his daughter feel?"

Earth's Sorcerer Supreme paused. It only lasted a moment, but Zatara's eyes gleamed through the golden magic. Fate ultimately shook his head, determined. "ENOUGH. YOU WERE WARNED, SHE-DEMON. PREPARE TO JOIN YOUR MAKER IN OBLIVION."

I sighed. Even though I'd planned for a fight, part of me had hoped to draw Klarion in without violence. "You've worn that helm for far too long. I will free Zatara. And, for once in my life, I will free myself from you."

The sky darkened as our mighty powers were unleashed; he opted for a blast from his palm, while I took the incoming magical energy and twisted it, reshaping it into dark orbs I then proceeded to throw at him. A golden ankh manifested as a shield before him, the spheres crashing against it. I thrust my chest out, an obsidian raven diving towards him, but he managed to reach out between the clouds, plucking a sunbeam to incinerate my construct with.

By now, the people below had taken notice of our sorcerous duel. I could feel their fear and confusion; coupled with Doctor Fate's distinctive magic, it wouldn't be long before the Witch Boy came.

Chains wrapped around his wrists, Fate lashed out at me, ensnaring my torso and immobilizing my arms. He prepared a golden spear to throw at me, but, even though I was bound, I was far from beaten.

I called upon Nevermore's inhabitants.

One by one, the Emoticlones poured out from the jewel on my forehead. Though they had once been mere psychological constructs I'd devised to confront my splintered mindscape, I had managed to…solidify them into distinct entities I could call upon for assistance. Fate had no choice but to surrender his hold on me and brace himself inside a shield, as a barrage of multicolored soul magic bombarded him.

I flew up to him, and enveloped my arms in the raven's talons, sinking their sharp tips into his protective bubble and tearing it apart with ease. He growled, and formed a golden greatsword, bringing it down upon me, but I stood my ground, as Bravery flanked and punched him across the helm, sending him spiraling towards the Earth. Timidity wove a gray net beneath him, breaking his fall, then remodelled it into a trap meant to immobilize him. Nabu's avatar morphed into that loathsome symbol, and vanished from within the net, only to reappear behind me and try to blast me. Wisdom shielded me with a bright yellow barrier, just in the nick of time, allowing me to cast a half dozen bolts of arcane energy, which tracked Fate even as he dove and twirled in the air to avoid them. He manifested a portal, just before they made contact, banishing them to some other, unseen realm. Fate created a bow of light, and tried his best to shoot me, but Rudeness and Sloth lazily batted the light arrows away before they could reach me. Love and Happiness each created a wall beside my foe, slamming them together. Fate was forced to hold the magic back with his bare hands, which left him wide open for the most powerful of my emotions.

Rage rose between us, growing dozens of feet in height, the better to resemble her demonic source. Her skin turned from gray to red, and her cowl and cape were burned away to reveal flowing white hair that floated upwards like dancing flames, deer-like horns the color of old bones, as well as a second pair of arms just under her regular limbs. Gleaming black shackles at her neck, wrists, and ankles led to broken chains, and the 'uniform' had burned away in places to reveal demonic glyphs, burned into my soul at birth to mark my fate as Trigon's portal.

It was, not gonna lie, kind of a badass demon form. Not that I'd be thanking Father anytime soon, but, silver linings.

Fully unleashed, Rage delivered a withering set of blows to Fate, held in place by Love and Happiness. Any mortal would've been pulverized by the assault, but Fate's magic shielded him from harm. Despite this, I could tell he was struggling by the way his form flickered and flashed with golden energy.

I was about to command Rage to stop - and hope she'd listen - when Doctor Fate roared, exploding with power and distorting the skies as the Sorcerer Supreme verged dangerously close on Nabu's full, near-divine potential. Fate extended his arms, and all of my Emoticlones, except for Rage, were enveloped in a golden aura and banished, reduced to pure soul energy and sent straight back into my head. Fate then took the freely floating chains on Rage's limbs, and contorted them around her body, restraining her. Never one to take restraints in stride, Rage snarled, and breathed fire at the sorcerer, but he managed to put up an ankh that parted the hellfire around him, rendering the flames harmless.

Out of the corner of my inner eye, so to speak, I felt the distinctive magical signature of a Lord of Chaos, waiting on the fringes for this duel's conclusion. Fate must not have noticed, but I could hardly blame him; his form flickered, Zatara's body struggling to cope with both the damage absorbed, and the power the increasingly frustrated Lord of Order sought to channel through it. It's not that I was more powerful than Nabu; I might've been somewhere in the neighborhood, optimistically speaking, but he was, for all intents and purposes, a god - and as such, he was limited to acting through a mortal, and thus, vulnerable.

Too, vulnerable, with Klarion on the prowl. It was time to end this.

Though I could sense her reluctance, I managed to compel Rage back inside me, her massive form reduced to a red beam that flowed back into the gem. Fate floated up to me, struggling to hold his avatar together.

"YOU HAVE FOUGHT WELL, SHE-DEMON." -he allowed, "BUT THIS ENDS NOW."

I smirked. "Couldn't agree more."

Fate pooled his power into the medallion on his chest, and blasted me with a beam that darkened the skies from its sheer brilliance. The attack, meant no doubt to atomize me, failed.

For I had, once again, become the White Raven.

"IMPOSSIBLE…" -he whispered, though I heard him perfectly, my ultimate form cosmically sensitive to even the most minute of quantum movements.

The White Raven was hard to explain; imagine, if you will, all the power of a dimension-shattering Arch-demon, coupled with the sheer potential of a human being. It was the ultimate realization of 'mind over matter', and a being beyond me and all of my selves put together. I dared not hold this form for long, so I wasted no time in ending the conflict.

Fate pointlessly tried to resist, but his powers washed harmlessly over me, like water against steel. I reached out and clutched his neck with one hand, while the other grabbed onto the Helm of Fate. Fear, outrage, and, oddly enough, a tiny bit of hope shone through the narrow slits of the mask's eyes.

Holding the man in place, I ripped the Helm off. In a great flash of golden energy, Doctor Fate was no more.

The skies returned to a pleasant, overcast afternoon as I gently deposited the exhausted form of Giovanni Zatara on a nearby rooftop, holding the Helm in a floating sphere of dark energy, just in case.

Zatara looked a lot older than I remembered him last, his once luscious dark locks giving way to more salt than pepper over the near decade he'd worn Nabu's link to our world. His once mirthful eyes held only sadness and relief, as they locked with my own, blazing white orbs.

"Thank you." -he barely gasped out.

"Don't thank me yet." -I said, a chorus of my other voices echoing my words. I turned, and saw exactly what I'd expected; a harmless old tomcat, orange and striped with black markings, pretending to simply wander around the rooftop.

I reached out, and encircled the now-panicked familiar in a similar orb to the Helm's. It hissed at me, indignant, but I knew better than to feel sorry for it, as Klarion himself popped into being between us, his twisted expression a mixture of rage and pure, unadulterated fear.

"Teekl!" - he hissed. "You heartless bitch, let my kitten go!"

"Let's not waste any time on theatrics, Witch Boy." -I said, perfectly calm as I warped both Zatara and the Helm of Fate away to Titans Tower, and slowly began to shrink the sphere around the Lord of Chaos's single anchor to this dimension. "You and I both know this is no cat, as surely as I knew you wouldn't be able to resist the opportunity to steal the Helm of Fate for yourself."

Klarion must've thought about bluffing through my statement, judging by his expression, but the flickering of his form as the sphere became dangerously small quickly saw that plan ruined. "Alright, alright! Stop it, I'll do whatever you want me to! It'd take me centuries to form another familiar."

I smirked, and let Teekl go. The cat-like entity ran for the metaphorical hills, terrified. Before Klarion could even think to run, I rushed, Superman-style, and got all up in his face.

"W-what do you even want, anyway?" -he asked, genuinely afraid of the White Raven. Safe at last, I shed that visage, and sighed, relieved to be back to my normal self.

"It's simple, Klarion. I want to meet the Light." -I said, then put a threatening hand on his shoulder. "Take me to your leaders."

About a year ago, I endeavored to do a partial rewrite of this story - or, at the very least, of the first few chapters. It's actually done, and part of that edit involves a very early scene (chapter 2, I believe) added on to flesh out at least a little bit of Raven's life as proprietor of the White Raven, by having her interact with Bella, the younger employee who appears here. I'll get around to updating those early chapters eventually, but the gist of it is, Bella has a crush on Rachel, Rachel is an empath, and hilarity ensues as they both diss on the Twilight novels, the main character of which Bella gets her name from.

I hope the magic duel works for you guys. I'll readily admit that fights are not my forté, so this is the part that took the longest. I know Doctor Fate is an extremely powerful character, so I tried my best to justify Raven's victory over Nabu's avatar. Fate's hubris and abuse of his host body were really the deciding factors here.

It's gonna be a little while before I can update this fic, but I aim to have it done in, y'know, less than four months. I'm aiming for mid-february, but don't quote me on that. Those MCU-based fics don't write themselves, you know. If you'd be so kind (and financially stable) to keep me caffeinated until then, consider pitching in to my Ko-fi! It's under my username, Darthkvzn. If not, just know I appreciate your reading my stuff anyway.

Until next time!